Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 368,966 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 56.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,813 shares of the company's stock after selling 368,966 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $9,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 401,501 shares of the company's stock worth $14,028,000 after purchasing an additional 98,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,617,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of IONS traded up $0.57 on Friday, reaching $33.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 893,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,154. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 0.15. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.54 and a 200-day moving average of $33.29. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.